New Beginnings
by Matilda Lovegood
Summary: A new girl starts her year at McKinley High. And she has a surprise for one of the old favorites...
1. Chapter 1

**NEW BEGINNINGS **

**Chapter One **

It was still snowing when Stella woke up. And it was her first day at a new school. Why did she think she could do this? Pleading with her parents to move here, leaving all her friends behind, leaving the city that never sleeps and coming to a town that's completely off the map. At least to her. But she knew she had to try.

_Well, at least I love snow. And I don't have to drive myself to school so I'll probably survive the trip down the icy roads_, she thought as she tried to make something happen with her hair. Nothing happened. It just lay there on the top of her had like a flat and over-used mop. Humidity. Can't live with it and can't live without… wait a sec. She could live without it.

"Stella! If you want dad to drive you to school, get going already!" she heard her mother scream at the foot of the stairs.

_So all the kids are up_, she thought. _Poor mom. Alone with three little brats all day. Without a nanny. Sucks._

She packed up her bag, put on her fuzzy hat and left her new room. Everything was new and it was still hard to adjust. Living in a house instead of an apartment, driving everywhere instead of just getting a cab, chatting with her friends online instead of at their favorite coffee place.

When she got downstairs, Stella saw that her little brother and two little sisters were dressed for outside as well.

"Where are you guys going," she started to ask but then remembered that babies can't really talk. "Mom, why are they all dressed to go? Isn't it a bit cold for a walk?" she asked her mother.

"We're not going for a walk, I'm taking them to a daycare while I go on a job interview," her mother answered and Stella was stunned. Job interview? Her mother plans to work? Since when?

"You're going on an interview? Where? Why? Aren't you going to stay at home with the babies?"

"There's an opening at the local newspaper, they're looking for an editor. I know I'm probably a bit overqualified but I really don't want to spend all day inside the house," Lisa answered.

Stella was a bit sad that she'd come to an empty house after school but she knew her mother loved being an editor and missed it greatly. So she put on the biggest and brightest of smiles and wished her luck. Her dad started honking from the driveway so she kissed her little siblings, blew a kiss at her mom, but an apple in her mouth and darted outside into the cold.

"Excited?" her dad asked when she got in the car. She paused for a moment. Was she excited? Or just plain scared?

"A bit. I don't really know how I feel yet. I guess I'll have to wait and see," she said.

"You know we support you a hundred percent, and I hope it will all go well," her dad sounded encouraging as always.

"Thanks, dad. I know you do. You guys are the best parents in the world. I want you to know that. Whatever happens, that's how I feel. I will forever feel that way."

"I know that, honey. We both do."

_Today's the day._

Stella's mind was rushing again. The excitement, the fear, the expectations, the unknown.

_Today's the day I meet my birth mother._


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The first thought that entered her mind was how different this school was to her old school. No uniforms, no old wooden squeaky stairs, there were lockers (one of those things you don't really miss if you've never used them before), and it was so noisy. At her old school, two people talking was considered noisy by the holier-than-thou teachers and other staff. Here, people actually talked, yelled, sang, ran around, jumped, laughed, and she could swear she saw one girl crying. Wow, back home someone would've already called the first available therapist. _Back home,_ Stella thought. _There is no back home. This is home now._

She continued through the hallway, aware of some people looking at her. It was okay, manageable. People weren't staring as if she had a horn sticking out of her head. A few looks here and there. Okay. When she was at a new place, people usually stared. She asked her parents and friends why, and they all just laughed and told her it was obvious. Obvious? What was obvious? Then one day her mom pointed out that she was tall, blonde, gorgeous and that guys liked her and girls wanted to be like her. She was approached once by an agent looking for new models, and her mom tried to get her to do a pictorial for her magazine, but she was too shy and not confident enough to be in that business.

"_Emma Pillsbury, guidance counselor". Okay, this is it. _

Stella knocked on the door and a friendly voice told her to come in. She opened the door and saw a petite young woman sitting at a neatly organized desk with a big smile on her face.

"You must be Stella Warren. Welcome to McKinley," the lovely woman said. "My name is Miss Pillsbury and I'm the guidance counselor. You can come to me with questions, problems, anything. Here is your schedule, and I'll take you to your first class so you don't get lost."

"Thank you," Stella said, unable to get over how friendly and cheerful this woman was.

"Sure. Your first class is Advanced Spanish. It's a senior class. I guess you're good at Spanish then, huh?"

Stella blushed. "Yes, I started learning it when I was 6."

"Wonderful. You'll love your Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester. He's also the coach of the Glee club. Do you sing?" Miss Pillsbury asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Yes, actually. I do. You think I should join Glee club?" Stella wasn't really planning on joining any clubs this soon. She'd only just started this school.

"That's your choice. It's just that all of the current members are now seniors and it would be really sad if the club died when they all leave school. Did your old school have a club like that?"

"Yeah. Well we had a choir. It wasn't really a club. We never competed anywhere or anything. We sang at school events and such." Stella remembered her school choir. How it was all mostly old hymns, anthems, songs in Latin and stuff like that. It would sure be fun to sing regular songs somewhere other than karaoke and her bathroom.

They arrived at a classroom. Before entering, Miss Pillsbury just said, "Okay, you don't have to decide now. Think about it, though. They could really use a fresh voice. We're here. Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Stella said and drew a big breath. _Let's do it._

As the door opened, Stella saw that the students weren't in the classroom yet. It was empty save for the teacher, Mr. Schuester.

"Emma, hey," he said with a huge smile (was something going on between the two?) and only then he noticed Stella standing next to the smiling red-head.

"Hi, you're a new student?" the teacher finally paid attention to her.

"Yes, my name is Stella Warren, nice to meet you," Stella said.

"So, a new school for your senior year, that must be…" he started, but Emma interrupted him.

"She's not a senior, she's a sophomore. Just advanced in Spanish," she corrected him.

"Oh! Well, great then. So, you had Spanish in your old school?"

"Yes, but I've been speaking it for a while longer," Stella said, not wanting to emphasize the fact that she's probably more fluent in Spanish than most high school teachers.

"Will, Stella used to sing in her old school's choir. Any thoughts on that?" Emma asked, obviously giddy over the fact that the Glee club might actually live on in the next school year.

"Oh, really? That's amazing. Well, I'm the Glee club coach, so any time you wanna join us, just say so, and you're in." Will said casually, but Stella could sense hope in the air. She'd definitely have to think about it.

As they were chatting about the curriculum, the other students started piling into the classroom. There was a very tall and very awkward boy holding hands with a girl who had a huge smile on her face, and looked honestly, blissfully happy. Then came a bulky young man with a mohawk who looked like he ran the place, and he was followed by three girls who were gossiping passionately about something and you could see they were the best of friends. The six of them were obviously good friends as they all sat close to each other and whispered about something before the second bell rang. With the second bell, the rest of the class came in, Miss Pillsbury left, and Mr. Schuester started to introduce the new girl.

"Settle down, everyone. Before we start conjugating irregular verbs, I want to introduce the newest student at McKinley. This is Stella Warren; give her a warm welcome, please. Stella, you wanna say something?"

_Ugh. Worst question ever,_ Stella thought as she tried to muster up what the new girl even could say to her new colleagues.

"Umm. Sure. Hi. I'm Stella and I transferred here from New York City," a loud murmur was heard throughout the class, and Stella knew they thought she was mad for leaving New York and coming to Lima, Ohio.

"I know, who leaves NYC to come here, right? Well, I needed a fresh start," she said and asked Mr. Schuester where she should sit.

He put her next to one of the three chatty girls, who introduced herself as Santana and welcomed her to the school.

As the class started, Stella began to feel a bit less nervous and excited, mostly because Spanish was familiar ground. She tried not to claim the spotlight with her knowledge, and was a bit bored for most of the class, but she actually really enjoyed the atmosphere.

She was a bit worried that she'd already lied to everyone on her first day. _A fresh start. Right. What a corny thing to say. _

With that thought, she decided she would get into it all now. She would let the atmosphere of a new school take her over completely. After all, she really liked it.

_So different. So much better. I should've come here ages ago, _she thought as she jotted down notes on irregular verbs.

_I hope it stays this good. _


End file.
